


About Time To Break the Rules

by wildfrancium



Series: Renegades [2]
Category: All For The Game - Nora Sakavic
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Future Fic, Kids, M/M, Sequel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-14
Updated: 2017-11-23
Packaged: 2018-12-15 05:44:40
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,118
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11799645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/wildfrancium/pseuds/wildfrancium
Summary: Life with Lily continues, and with it includes family bonding, Neil trying to create wheelchair Exy, and a trip to Disney World.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ahhh here we are at the beginning of the sequel to All Hail the Underdogs. I love writing this story and creating their life with Lily. This part is going to be packed with a lot of emotions too and plenty of good times! Hope everyone enjoys!

January 4th was the single happiest day of Neil Josten’s life. He’d been pretty sure he’d already reached the max happiness he was capable of, but when Lily was officially declared Lily Josten for the rest of her life, Neil felt like he was floating.

Nothing could get him down. On Christmas, Neil and Andrew had presented Lily with a gift stating that they’d legally adopt her on January 4th. It was the first time either of them had seen her cry, and Lily cried hard. Huge crocodile tears dripped down her cheeks as Neil and Andrew stared at her in shock and horror.

Until she finally sobbed that she was happy. Neil had then hugged her while Andrew squeezed his bicep. Neil was pretty sure he was trying not to self-combust.

As Lily calmed down, Andrew relaxed into Neil, who cuddled both as best as he could. They sat the for at least an hour until Andrew got up and went outside with his cigarettes. Lily pulled her boots and coat on too and followed.

That night, Neil heard a new song coming from Lily’s room. She’d been on a Christmas tunes kick, but it was something new he hadn’t heard. But the lyrics warmed his heart. He stood outside her door and listened for a moment wondering how exactly he’d even gotten there. How was it that he was standing outside of his daughters’ room down the hall from the love of his life?

 

On January 4th, they were all antsy. Andrew stood on the back deck for over an hour despite the cold. Lily went out first. Neil went out when she came in.

Andrew stood with his hands tucked in his pockets, cigarette between his lips, staring at nothing. Neil stood next to him. Yesterday, Andrew had gone to meet with Betsy who was in town to accompany them to the courthouse. Neil wasn’t sure it eased any of Andrew’s tension.

Neil was a bundle of nerves too. He’d spent an hour the night before pacing their bedroom. They slept locked together, but Neil was pretty sure Andrew hadn’t slept, just kept his arms tight around Neil.

“Lily wants to go out for lunch after and I invited Betsy,” Neil told Andrew. They’d discussed it, but Neil had just finished finalizing the plans. Betsy was not someone Neil was thrilled about, but he knew it was polite and she’d done a lot to help them both get to the point of adoption.

“Okay,” Andrew said flatly. Neil bounced on his toes. It was freezing and gray out.

“It’s that Puerto Rican place. With the plantains you and Lily like,” Neil continued. For Lily, he wanted it to be a celebration, and for Andrew, he wanted it to be comfort. He looked over at Andrew who moved to put the cigarette out. He stared at Neil intently. Neil gave him a small smile. “Yes or no, Andrew?” Neil asked, bending forward into Andrew’s space.

“Yes,” Andrew breathed.

Neil pushed their lips together in a quick kiss. He rested his forehead against Andrew’s. “We’ve got this,” he whispered.

“Mmm,” Andrew hummed, reaching up and digging his cold fingers into the warm skin on the back of Neil’s neck. Neil grunted to show his discomfort, but Andrew held him still.

Neil shut his eyes, listening to Andrew’s breathing slow, feeling the warmth against his cheeks and lips.

“You can protect her,” Neil added after a moment. Andrew griped him tighter. “We’ve fought the system. Everything and everyone who said we couldn’t; here we are and now we are opening the doors for another.”

Andrew nodded, letting go of Neil and turning to go inside. Neil watched him, watched the door slide shut and Andrew go up to Lily who was still eating her breakfast. Whatever Andrew said to her, made a huge grin spread on her face. Neil smiled too, digging his car keys out of his pocket.

“I’ll go warm up the car,” he said as he passed through the house, turning before Andrew saw the smile on his face. They were going to be proper dads in a few hours.

And that thought made him beyond happy.

 

Neil was still floating when they reached the restaurant. Andrew wasn’t faring well, Neil could tell by the he moved, but he held Lily hand during the entire court hearing and was still holding her hand as they headed inside. Leaving Neil to walk with Betsy.

“During Lily’s spring break, we are going to go to Disney World,” Neil told Betsy when they were seated. He didn’t expect Andrew to make conversation.

“That’s what I heard. It sounds like it will be a great trip.”

“Yeah, Lily made the choice. And we might go together for games with Court this year,” Neil added. With everything that was going on in his life, Neil was surprised he, for once, wasn’t itching to get back on the court. Exy still drove his life, but usually Andrew couldn’t stand Neil in the winter when there was no Exy because Neil started to obsess about it.

“Are you doing any interviews?” Betsy asked. Neil sighed.

“Yeah, but I said I was only doing specific ones and nothing like a press conference.” All his coaches had sat him down and told him it was time for interviews. They said it was up to him what he said about Lily, but since rumors about her had started he and Andrew were a hot topic that the teams wanted to cash in on.

It didn’t really bother Neil. He got out of a lot and the interviews he did had become routine. There was a particular writer at Sports Illustrated that he liked because she didn’t add fluff to her articles or embellish on anything Neil had ever said. She didn’t ask touchy questions either.

“Are you going to participate?” Betsy asked Andrew who only shrugged. Betsy nodded.

They ate in relative silence, but Lily looked like she was enjoying herself, so Neil didn’t mind. He and Andrew had found the restaurant before taking in Lily, but they frequented it wanting to expose Lily to what was part of her heritage.

Neil had gotten Lily some Spanish picture books and a Spanish picture dictionary for Christmas. He and Andrew had started to do some research on Puerto Rico, but most of it was interrupted by getting ready for the adoption.

 

They parted ways with Betsy after lunch and headed back to their house as a full family. Neil entered their house liking that he’d always see Lily’s shoes on their mat and her coat on the rack. There would always be kid movies by the TV and her artwork on the fridge and the walls. Her little league pictures would always hang with theirs.

Andrew sat on the couch in his normal spot, with Lily at his side sticking her toes under his thigh to warm them. Neil stood behind the couch watching Andrew turn on game shows. Lily was getting good at them.

Neil’s hands hovered over Andrew’s head until he nodded. Neil raked his fingers through Andrew’s hair feeling the stress of the day pour out of him.

“I don’t like court houses,” Lily said looking up at Neil. He nodded.

“Let’s plan to stay away from them,” he said.

“Tonight, we are going to eat my cake, right?” Lily asked. Last night, she’d attempted to bake a cake herself. She’d mixed all the ingredients and poured it in a bowl. Neil put it in and took it out of the oven and then Lily had decorated it.

She’d already made thank you cards that Neil and Andrew received the day after Christmas. They sat proudly on Andrew’s dresser.

“Of course,” Neil said still dragging his fingers through Andrew’s thick hair.

“Good!” Lily shouted jumping up. “I’m just so happy now! I want to run around the house!” she cheered, leaping off the couch and running to the kitchen. “Hakuna Matata, Neil!”

The Lion King had been a gift from Dan and Matt. They’d only watched it twice, but Neil kept dreaming about the giant pig.

Neil kissed the top of Andrew’s head. “I love you, and our family,” he whispered. Andrew reached up, holding Neil’s head as he looked up. Andrew placed a quick kiss on Neil’s eyes, his nose, and then his lips.

It was Andrew’s way of saying I love you, too.


	2. Chapter 2

January 9th was the absolute worst day of Neil and Andrew’s lives. Nothing else compared. On January 9th Lily broke her elbow.

 

===============================================================

 

“Careful on the ice,” Neil said as he and Lily headed out to the car. They’d been cursed with freezing rain for the last two days and Neil was less than thrilled to have to go grocery shopping.

“I am,” Lily called, sliding across the ice the salt hadn’t melted yet. Neil pulled the door open for Lily when there was a yelp and then a crack.

Neil whipped around to see Lily laying on the ground staring wide eye at the sky.

“Lily!” he shouted, heart pounding. She didn’t react. Cold terror filled Neil and he choked down the bile that rose in his throat. “Andrew!” Neil yelled, voice sounding shrill with panic. “Andrew!!” Neil didn’t want to touch Lily, not knowing what she’d hurt. “Lily, Lily sweetie can you hear me?” Neil asked, voice shaking.

Slowly, Lily’s eyes moved over to Neil. They were still wide and Neil could tell she was in pain. He stared back, not knowing what to do.

The front door opened.

“What happened?” Andrew demanded.

“She slipped on the ice! Something I don’t know, I think I heard something crack!” Neil said, breathing heavy. He knew he was going to start hyperventilating. “She won’t move or talk!”

Andrew bent down by Lily and pulled out his phone. He talked calmly to 911 as Neil vomited in the bushes. When he was done retching, he went back to Andrew and Lily. Andrew was talking quietly to her, but she just stared at him. Neil felt like he was dying.

When the ambulance arrived, Neil had to go throw up again. Memories rushed back as he watched paramedics kneel by Lily.

“She’s in shock,” a paramedic said as they readied to move Lily. “But there don’t seem to be signs of head trauma. You said you heard something crack?” he asked Neil. Neil nodded dumbly. The paramedics went back to surveying Lily, and when one touched her right arm, she shrieked.

Neil started hyperventilating. All he could hear was rushing in his ears and everything got blurry. He was shivering from kneeling in the snow.  Lily was hurt and he’d been helpless to stop it. He was panicking. Would they take Lily away now? Would they-

Andrew’s warm hand clamped down on the back of Neil’s neck. He kept firm pressure on Neil as Neil continued to feel like he was sucking air through a thin straw. Neil could see the paramedics loading Lily up, but his mind was numb. Every thought he’d ever had for forgotten and he was filled with fear.

Andrew was speaking to him. Soft words whispered in his ear. But Neil couldn’t hear him. All he heard was Lily, Lily, Lily.

Andrew pulled Neil to his feet and dragged him over the ice by his hands. A different wave of terror rushed over Neil when they climbed into the ambulance. That time, that time Andrew had… The memory was old and faded, buried where it was better off forgotten, but the fear was rushing back into Neil.

He dug his fingers into Andrew’s palm, breathing still unsteady. They were cutting away Lily’s jacket while talking to Andrew.

Lily shrieked again.

And Neil passed out.

 

Nightmares flooded Neil’s dreams. Past terrors made themselves real again and Neil was helpless against it. He could feel the knives and the burns. He could see Andrew on that bed. He was standing on the beach, bound and gagged, watching his car burn, but inside was Andrew and Lily.

 

Neil woke up sweating, but his nightmares were forgotten; just a tremor in the back of his mind. He sat up only to realize he was in a hospital bed. He sat up slowly to see Andrew sitting next to the bed. Lily was in his lap with a cast on her arm that went up to her shoulder.

Neil felt nauseous.

“Don’t you dare do that again,” Andrew said softly, opening his eyes to look at Neil.

“What happened?” Neil asked, mind fuzzy.

“Lily fell on the ice and broke her elbow. You passed out and threw up all over yourself,” Andrew said. “They said you were having a panic attack from the shock.”

Neil nodded slowly.

“Kids get hurt,” Andrew said. It was then that Neil noticed the slight shake in Andrew’s voice. “It was an accident,” he added.

Neil nodded again.

“Whatever horrors it reminded you of… those days are over,” Andrew said firmly. He stood up, hefting Lily higher on his hip, and sat on the edge of Neil’s bed. With one hand, Andrew reached out to caress Neil’s face. Neil could see the fear draining out of Andrew’s eyes as he held Lily and Neil close.

“Kids get hurt,” he said again as if he was trying to convince himself. Neil nodded. “They gave me stuff for her pain, but she’ll need surgery,” Andrew said quietly. His voice was shaking again. “But there shouldn’t be permanent damage. No other injuries. She cried when she came out of shock…” Andrew explained, thumb running over the scars on Neil’s left cheek. “She kept asking where you were and if you were okay and if it was her fault you weren’t okay.”

Neil felt his chest go tight. Panic rushed through him as Andrew’s words weighed him down.

“I told her no it wasn’t her fault, just that you were scared and sometimes when people get scared their bodies freak out. They gave her something to calm down and it made her sleepy.” Andrew stared intently at Neil, moving his hand to the back of Neil’s head and pulling him forward so that their foreheads were touching and Lily was cradled between them. “Neil,” Andrew whispered, barely audible. “Never do that to me or us again.”

“I won’t,” Neil whispered, a sob rising up in his throat. Andrew kissed his eyes and then his nose and then his lips.

“I’m gonna go find someone so we can get the fuck out of this place,” Andrew said passing Lily to Neil. He settled her against his chest, taking deep breaths to keep from crying. He stroked her hair, the weight of her reminding him of the comforting weight Andrew was.

 

Once they were home, Neil set Lily up on the couch. She was groggy and still half asleep when he tucked her in and propped her arm up with pillows. Andrew rushed to the back, lighting up before the back door shut. After Lily was settled, Neil followed Andrew, but left the back door propped open.

Neil could see Andrew was shaking as he held the cigarette to his lips. Neil went to stand next to him; surprised when Andrew reached out and pulled Neil flush against him. He blew smoke in Neil’s face.

The was anger and pain in his eyes. Behind that there was fear. Neil’s stomach rolled knowing he was the cause of those emotions.

“You’re stronger than that,” Andrew said repeating words Neil had whispered to him often over the last ten years.

“I know. I panicked.”

Andrew put the cigarette back between his lips, staring at Neil who was an inch from his face.

“Can I touch you more?” Neil asked. Andrew shook his head.

“Go inside with Lily. I’m okay,” he said surprising Neil. Neil nodded, and pulled away from Andrew to go back inside.

Lily was still asleep and, if Neil was honest, he was tired too. He went to order dinner instead. He wasn’t that hungry, but knew they all needed to eat. After placing their order, Neil went to sit with Lily. Her hand looked so tiny compared to her hulking cast. He knew Andrew was right; kids got hurt. But he never really imagined it happening to their little family. Everything felt safe with them, but accidents did happen. No one broke Lily’s elbow. The scars weren’t malicious.

Kids got hurt and kids got sick. It happened all the time and usually, it was no one’s fault.

But Neil still felt guilty.

He stroked Lily’s hair gently, the way he stroked Andrew’s to calm him down. Lily’s big brown eyes fluttered open until she was looking up at Neil.

“Hey Lily,” he said softly. She groaned as she shifted and then looked back up at him.

“I’m hungry,” she said. Neil nodded.

“I ordered Chinese and made sure to get dumplings. Lots so we can all have our own without fighting,” he told her. She smiled. No matter what Neil ordered, there never seemed to be enough dumplings.

“And you’re okay?” she asked. Neil nodded.

“But I should be asking you that,” Neil said with a laugh. Lily smiled again.

“Andrew said you were scared,” she said and Neil nodded. “He was scared too,” Lily told Neil.

“I know,” Neil said.

“He was crying on the phone with Betsy,” Lily whispered making Neil’s heart sink. He’d seen Andrew break down enough to cry only once before.

“I’ll take care of him,” Neil told her.

“I’ll help you,” she said with a smile.

“I’d like that. I think he would too,” Neil said kissing Lily’s forehead. “He’s still outside, but he’ll come inside soon.”

“We can watch game shows with him. And I’ll let him win,” Lily said sitting up. Neil knew it was usually Andrew who let Lily win.

“Okay,” Neil said, getting up to answer the door to get their food. He set it all on the coffee table and sat next to Lily on the couch. They started eating and Neil felt relieved when he finally heard the backdoor open. Andrew looked thoroughly wrung out and frozen to the bone, but he sat in his normal spot on the couch and started eating.

“Can I sit in your lap?” Lily asked Andrew. He nodded. Lily moved so that she was tucked into Andrew’s lap, so that Neil could sit next to Andrew and press against him from shoulder to knee. He relaxed against Neil.

Neil knew later he’d talk through everything with Andrew, but for now the terror was over and Lily was okay. Their small family was enjoying a meal together again and the day’s events seemed long ago.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thinking of doing a chapter more from Andrew's POV at some point. Hope everyone enjoyed!!


	3. Chapter 3

Lily had surgery on Friday which meant Andrew had to make a phone call. It went about as well as Andrew had expected it to go, but ended with Aaron sighing and agreeing. Even though he pointed out seven times that he was a neurosurgeon, he agreed to stand in the operating room with Lily. The hospital had agreed to allow him in as well.

But now Aaron was coming and staying until Saturday evening and Andrew wasn’t sure how he felt. After graduation, Aaron had always kept his distance. They had their separate lives with occasional phone calls mostly at Neil and Katelyn’s requests. Andrew and Neil got a Christmas card every year. Aaron called to congratulate him on adopting Lily.

But there was always space between them. They worked better with that space.

Andrew had given Neil his time with Bee that day. He needed it more even though they both weren’t sleeping well. Lily didn’t seem too bothered by her arm. She went happily to school, eager to get back and see her friends.

When she came home Monday and was fine, Neil started to relax. Andrew knew Kevin had already called at least ten times to discuss Lily’s recovery and physical therapy plan. Andrew rolled his eyes every time.

He turned when there was a knock on the door. Lily waved at him to come inside. So, he dropped his cigarette and stamped it out.

“Let’s do music,” Lily said as he opened the door. He nodded and went to hang up his coat. She followed singing her current favorite, a song by a singer named Indila. After the master choir sang in French, Lily asked her teacher for other music in French. She’d also told Lily where to find sheet music for piano.

Andrew had never planned to play piano again. It was something from so far in the past, that he wanted to believe he’d forgotten how. It was different sitting down as an adult. He wasn’t being asked to run through scales until his hands cramped. He wasn’t being yelled at by old men with scraggily beards or women who looked like birds.

It was just him and Lily.

And he knew Neil sat on top of their stairs and listened most of the time.

“Derniere Danse,” Lily requested, already sitting at the piano. Andrew took the bow she was trying to put back in her hair from her hand. He brushed her hair back and clipped it in. It was an obnoxiously big bow one of the Court cheerleaders had gifted her.

“Why do you like such a sad song?” Andrew asked, sitting next to Lily. She shrugged as she did whenever he asked.

“I like the vocals. And then we can do Chandelier,” she told him pressing a few of the keys. “Why is Neil talking to Bee and not you?” she asked turning to Andrew. Andrew looked at her.

“He needs to talk to her right now to ease his anxiety. You getting hurt is still bothering him and I asked him to talk to Bee.”

“Will he?” Lily asked.

“Probably not, but I hope he tries,” Andrew said. He had offered to sit with Neil with he talked to Betsy, but Neil shooed him away.

“I hope he tries because he knows I’m okay. Broken bones heal.”

“I know and he knows that. Neil just wants to be able to protect you.”

“Mmm.” She leaned against Andrew for a moment. “Is it bad memories?” she asked.

“Sometimes,” Andrew said.

“And you’re not having bad memories, right?”

“Not right now I’m not,” he told her. She nodded and Andrew fixed her bow again. She smiled up at him.

“Okay. Let’s sing then,” she said. Andrew smiled and gave her a nod.

They ran through Derniere Danse twice before Lily wanted to get up and move around. Andrew told her, half-heartedly, to be careful as she danced around the dining room belting out Chandelier. How a voice so big came out of a child, Andrew didn’t know. He was sure the neighbors could hear it perfectly.

As always, she tried to convince Andrew to sing with her, but he shook his head and ran through Chandelier three more times for her.

With Lily tired, they moved into the kitchen. Neil came down the stairs looking exhausted. Andrew held his hand out to Neil, who took it and let Andrew pull him close. After heavy talks, Andrew still tended to need space after, but Neil always needed to be held.

“We talked about my parents,” Neil whispered. His face was buried in the crook of Andrew’s neck.

“You aren’t them,” Andrew said softly, moving Neil’s arms so that they were wrapped around his torso. Andrew placed his hands on Neil’s back, running his fingers along his spine.

“I know,” Neil whispered.

“I don’t even think you’re capable of being like them,” Andrew added. Neil let out a slow breath.

“I hate that this is bothering me so much.”

“I know,” Andrew said. Neil leaned back and kissed him. A short, tender kiss and then pulled away from Andrew. He smiled and then turned towards the living room.

“Do I seriously hear I Just Can’t Wait To Be King again?” Neil called jokingly. As he went toward Lily, Andrew leaned back against the counter and smiled to himself.

 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

The car ride to the hospital with Aaron was weird. Neil kept telling Andrew it would be fine, but Andrew told him the only thing it would be was weird. Even when he knew little about Aaron, he always seemed liked the kind to have children. It was never supposed to be the other way around.

And the fact that it was, was weird.

Aaron traded pleasantries with Neil and Andrew before turning his focus to Lily. She didn’t do much beyond nodding, but he talked to her in a friendly voice that Andrew had never heard before. More weird.

“It’s weird that he looks like you,” Lily whispered to Andrew when he carried her inside.

“He has a beard that looks wrong on his face,” Andrew told her.

Neil felt the need to add that Andrew still couldn’t grow much of a beard, so Andrew focused on glaring at the back of Neil’s head while the doctors talked to them.

The waiting room was terrible. Neil’s pacing made him more anxious, so then he started pacing. And then people would look at them, so he’d glare until they went back to minding their own business. Neither of them talked while they waited. Andrew knew it would go fine, but he felt more confident that Aaron was there and wouldn’t let anything happen.

The doctor appeared in no time to tell them everything went well and that Aaron was with Lily in recovery.

“How’d it go?” Andrew immediately asked Aaron.

“Was I supposed to take notes or is saying everything went as planned enough for you?” he asked. Andrew rolled his eyes. “I didn’t think being a parent would fit you, but it does,” he added. Andrew stared at him. “I mean, I couldn’t do all this,” he gestured and Andrew shrugged.

“It seemed like the right thing to do,” Andrew said, turning to Neil, who was watching them but trying not to be obvious about it.

“I think it was a good idea too. She’s lucky. Kids need people that really care,” Aaron said. Andrew watched Neil sigh. They were all just people who grew up needing someone to truly care. And they didn’t get it until they were well past childhood…

Andrew looked at Lily sleeping peacefully. She’d asked about Aaron a lot. She wanted to know what it was like for Andrew to have a brother. He hadn’t been quite sure how to answer her.

“I watched the copy of her concert that you sent for Christmas,” Aaron added, Andrew turning back to him. “Me and Katelyn, we’d like to properly visit sometime. If that’s okay,” he said looking nervous. “I think I’d be an okay uncle. At least better than Kevin. I’ve seen the group message.”

Andrew stared at him for a long moment. He wasn’t going to say no, he was just intrigued that his brother wanted to be involved. They’d moved on and lived their separate lives. He chose Katelyn and Andrew chose Neil.

“Lily would like to know you,” Neil said when Andrew was quiet for too long. “She always asks about the Foxes and our found family. So, I think you should visit.”

Aaron looked at Andrew. Andrew nodded. “Neil’s right,” he said. “It’d be okay if you both came to visit,” Andrew said surprised that it was easy to say those words. Aaron nodded, a small smile on his face.

“She was scared, so I got all the doctors to sing before they put her out. It made her smile,” Aaron told them. Andrew nodded, sitting on the bed with Neil. Lily was finally starting to stir.

“Thank you,” Andrew said to his brother. Aaron gave him another small smile and nodded.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally moving into the main plot focus~ 
> 
> Hope everyone enjoys this chapter!

Neil was at Court for a monthly team meeting and press conference. Now that the holidays were over, practice for both teams would resume as they geared up for the summer season. New drafts would be done in March and Neil was aware of who Kevin had his eye on. They’d be taking three new players. Neil knew that Kevin was back to trying to convince Jean to try out, but last he’d heard, Jean still couldn’t stomach being at Evermore. He’d done it for the Olympics, and Neil had witnessed more than enough of his panic attacks to understand. He told Kevin he’d rather just stay playing professional in L.A.

So, when Kevin was done bothering Jean on the phone, he was tailing Neil to discuss Lily’s recovery plan. Which they’d gone over twice in the same day so far, but Kevin didn’t think Neil was taking him serious enough.

“When she is cleared to practice again, I want to work with her,” Kevin said again. Neil rolled his eyes. “I’m serious. She could make Court out of high school and she’s a girl. Do you know what that could mean for her?”

“She’s six Kevin. She wants to have fun,” Neil said. Again.

“I’m talking about when she’s ready to get serious,” Kevin said. “You’ve seen her run through old Raven drills at six.”

Neil sighed. “I mean you can talk to her about it, but Andrew says if she says she wants to stop than she’s stopping. He says I can’t force her which I know, so you have even less say.”

“It will be fun,” Kevin said.

“I want her to do it too. I want Lily to do it all. She really likes Exy, but we are also working on her feeling comfortable talking to people. We’ve made some progress and putting her in accelerated reading and math seems to have helped, but she’s like we were. We need to fix other things and hopefully Exy will be what she channels herself into.”

Kevin ran his fingers through his hair. Neil knew if Andrew had heard even a sentence of Kevin’s desire to shape Lily into a star, he’d throw him out. Andrew told Neil to keep his obsession in check enough for him to have no tolerance for Kevin.

“Is she coming to the kids’ day thing?” Before official practice resumed, the US Court invited all players to bring their kids and families to a small gathering to encourage team bonding and family support.

“I guess if she wants to,” Neil said with a shrug. She’d be out of her cast by then, so Neil figured he would. Maybe Lily going would even convince Andrew to show up too.

“Good,” Kevin said with a sharp nod. Neil was relieved when his phone rang and he could excuse himself from Kevin.

 _Lily’s social worker called and I had to go get her._ Andrew said when Neil answered. His stomach twisted into a knot.

“What happened?”

_She hit another kid in the face and wouldn’t come out of the bathroom. She’s completely shut down and I can’t get her to talk about it. Apparently, it was something about you that caused it. The other kids said they were just talking about you and she hit them._

“And she won’t say anything?”

_No. I had a meeting with the social worker and her teacher. She didn’t really hurt the other kid, but we had to go over shit like no violence and using words and Lily just sat there. She’s up in her room, but she won’t talk to me either._

“I can’t leave for another hour,” Neil said feeling stressed. Lily barely showed aggression on the Exy court so that she’d go as far as to hit another person surprised Neil.

 _I can go ask if she wants to talk to you._ Andrew said. Neil nodded at first before realizing he was on the phone.

“Yeah, go ask,” Neil said and waited. He racked his brain trying to come up with an answer. Lily hadn’t complained about anyone picking on her recently although it did still happen.

 _I think I know what’s wrong._ Andrew said a few moments later. _I think someone was telling her about your dad. She asked me if you killed people. I said no. She asked if your dad was going to kill her and I said he’s dead. I told her no one will ever kill her. That we are here to protect her… I’m going to go and try to get her to talk more._

“Okay, okay yeah that sounds good,” Neil said feeling nauseous. Kids having access to the internet caused all his and Andrew’s problems to be accessed by anyone and that someone would use it against his child made him sick.

The line went dead and Neil sank to his knees. The past always seemed to show up at the most inopportune moments. He just wanted them to be a happy, little family…

“Everything okay?” Kevin asked. Neil looked over his shoulder at him.

“I don’t know,” Neil said with a heavy sigh. “Just children being cruel.”

Kevin stared at Neil for a moment and Neil was sure he was going to ask for more information, but instead he said, “Coach wants to talk to you before you go.”

Neil nodded and pushed to a stand. He had his flight home to think about what to say to Lily about his father. If she even wanted to talk about it.

 

 

 

Neil’s flight landed late, but Lily was awake in the back when Andrew picked him up. Both had blank looks on their face. Andrew had texted Neil while he waited for his flight saying Lily was scared. Neil understood that. He’d be scared too, if he was her.

“Lily, my coach gave me information about a week long camp that the US Court is opening this summer before our season starts. They are trying to recruit talented kids from all over the country,” he said. She nodded. “Coach wanted me to tell you that they’re taking a kid from Oakland too, where you learned, as long as he keeps his good behavior up.”

“Mmm,” Andrew hummed.

“Coach wanted to know if you wanted to maybe show up one day and talk to him,” Neil added. Andrew looked at him.

“Not really,” he told Neil, but that wasn’t a no. Neil nodded and the rest of the ride was silent.

Once inside, they followed Lily upstairs. Neil stood in her doorway, watching her get into bed. Andrew had gone on to their room.

“Can I come in?” Neil asked. Lily nodded. Neil went to sit in the rocking chair in the corner. Lily watched him. “So, I heard that those kids were talking about scary things about my family,” Neil said choosing his words carefully.

Lily nodded again.

“There’s no one around to come after you anymore or me or Andrew,” Neil said. Neil had gotten a summons from the main Moriyama branch after the Olympics and he was released. He didn’t ask questions, but it was eluded to that they were pulling out of the United States or at least the main branch was and leaving it to people Neil didn’t know.

It’d been the weirdest day of his life. There was no more target on his back. He was free for the first time in his life.

“Scary and bad things happened in the past. I told you my father was a bad man and he did bad things.” Almost instinctively, Neil almost reached for his face. He twisted his hands together in his lap instead. “People can say whatever they wanted, but this is a safe house. A ton of people had to make sure this was a safe place before you came here.”

Lily looked at him with big, brown eyes. “I have a new friend,” she said throwing Neil off.

“Who is it?” he asked.

“Chloe is new and she likes Exy. She knows who you are,” Lily said. “She wants to play.”

“Oh okay. We can tell her parents about the little league team you play for,” Neil told her, but Lily shook her head. “What?”

“Her legs don’t move. She has a wheelchair,” Lily told him. “I told her you’d figure it out. or Kevin would. I showed her how to practice catching the ball first.”

Neil stared at Lily.

“I don’t know if I can,” Neil said at last.

“There are other wheelchair sports. But no Exy. It won’t be that hard,” Lily said. Neil nodded, but he didn’t even know where to begin. “I think defense would be best to start. She wants to be a striker, but I don’t know if you can figure that out. I said defense would be best.”

“So, you want her to play with you?” Neil asked. Lily nodded.

“Who else would she play with? There are no other wheelchair people here.”

“Okay, I’ll have to think about it. Maybe she can come over on the weekend and we can try to figure something out.”

“Okay, I’ll tell her tomorrow. And we need to call Kevin too. He emailed me today to Andrew’s email.”

“What?” Neil asked.

“It was about physical therapy. Andrew read it to me,” she said. Neil wasn’t surprised to hear that.

“So, you don’t want to talk about what happened in school today?” he asked just to be sure. Lily shook her head. “Well, we’ll have to talk about it at some point. Maybe with Mrs. Hart,” Neil said and Lily just shrugged. “Okay well, it’s bedtime, so I’ll tuck you in,” Neil said standing.

“Good night,” Lily said as he tucked her in and kissed her forehead.

“Good night, Lily. I love you,” he whispered. She gave him a small smile.

“I love you too.”


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason, I suddenly don't really like any of my writing, so I'm trying to get this story back to a place at which I like it because I still want to write it. I don't know. I just hope everyone reading likes it. I'm trying to make it better.

Andrew sat on the steps on the deck with Lily. They were bundled in their winter coats and Andrew played with his lighter while Lily picked at the wood of the steps. Whatever was happening at school was continuing and Lily’s new way to combat it was to shriek at the top of her lungs. Andrew and Neil had been to multiple meetings over the last two weeks. Lily refused to talk about it.

They said she was fine in class, but at recess she often resorted to shrieking and then refused to talk. She wasn’t talking to the social worker, her teacher, or her choir teacher. If Neil tried to coax something out of her, she shut down. Same with Andrew.

Andrew knew it was wearing on Neil more. They’d been spoiled with a delightful first few months, but they knew being parents wasn’t going to be easy. They’d taken on the burden fully prepared for anything. Andrew knew Neil just felt helpless and like he was running out of options.

Lily looked over at Andrew. He stared back.

“Are you going to send me away now?” she asked.

“No,” Andrew told her.

“The family I was with before; the brother said they’d send me back if I didn’t stop being broken.”

“We adopted you, Lily. You are ours until you are eighteen. No matter what happens.”

She went back to looking at her lap.

“Are you going to tell me what is happening at school?” Andrew asked. She shrugged. “Sometimes families would tell me they were going to send me away if I wasn’t good or if I didn’t behave,” Andrew told her.

“Did they?” she asked.

“Sometimes. But when I got older I learned it wasn’t my fault and none of them were families I really wanted to be with.”

“Did you get a family?” Lily asked.

“I did. First, I got my cousin and my brother. But Neil is my true family. He will always be my family. And now you are my family and you will always be my family. Even when bad things happen and when good things happen.”

“Neil is tired,” she said.

“I know. Interviews and press make him tired. And worrying about you makes him tired because he wants you to be happy. We don’t know how to help and it makes us both sad.”

“I heard him when he said he didn’t want to go to Court. That he wants to make sure I’m okay first.”

“Mhmm,” Andrew nodded.

“Did people know you had a good memory?” she asked.

“Not until I was older. I moved a lot, so people didn’t notice. Do people know you have a good memory?”

Lily shrugged, picking at her cast.

“Have you seen things you don’t want to see?” Lily asked. Andrew nodded.

“All my life,” he said. She sighed.

“I make everyone mad,” she told Andrew.

“No one is mad Lily. People are frustrated because they can’t help you. None of us can read your mind,” he told her. “And I mean it. No one is mad. If you need them to tell you they will. When I was little, I did things I didn’t want to do because I didn’t want people to be mad at me. The thought of making someone mad is scary, but we are not mad. And we won’t be, no matter what. Especially me and Neil. We aren’t mad and won’t be.” Andrew moved over so that he was right next to Lily. He put his arm around her and pulled her close thinking of all the fear he felt as a child and how badly he wished he could take it away from Lily.

Lily pressed her face into Andrew’s jacket and let out a heavy sigh.

“I know you got a new song for choir. Do you want to go practice it?” he asked after a moment. Lily nodded. Andrew stood and lifted her up. She pressed her cold nose to his neck. “Hey that’s cold,” Andrew grumbled making her giggle. She was like Neil who always wanted to press his cold fingers to Andrew’s warm skin.

Inside, he put Lily down and sent her to get her music. Andrew went to hang their coats up and leaned over the back of the couch into Neil’s face.

“Any luck?” Neil asked without opening his eyes. He was wrapped up in a blanket, but Andrew could tell from the tension in his body that he wasn’t asleep.

“Not really. Maybe a little though. We are going to practice her music while you make dinner.”

“You sure what we’re doing is right?” Neil asked for probably the thousandth time. He opened his eyes to look up at Andrew.

“What would your mom have done?” Andrew asked.

“Beat me,” Neil said with a sigh.

“And that is the wrong thing, so what we’re doing is okay,” Andrew said. Neil lifted himself up to kiss Andrew.

“You sure?”

“She’ll open up. We just have to continue to be there for her,” Andrew said. Neil reached up, running a hand through Andrew’s hair.

“Is it what you would have wanted?” Neil asked. Andrew thought for a moment and nodded.

“I think so,” Andrew said quietly. Neil nodded.

“I think it’s what I wanted too, back then. Patience and understanding…”

“She’ll be okay,” Andrew said. “We will make sure of it.”

Neil kissed him again, nodding. He ran his fingers through Andrew’s hair again.

“I got an email when you were out there. They are going to let her go to the office during recess for the week if she does good with Ms. Hart,” Neil said. “So hopefully she won’t feel whatever she feels at recess and we can move forward.”

“Okay,” Andrew said, kissing Neil’s forehead. “Will that help you sleep tonight?”

“It might. I want to sleep, but I just can’t,” he said, cupping Andrew’s jaw. Andrew stared down at Neil. In the low light it was hard to see the bags under his eyes.

“Mmm.”

“Are you ever going to let me watch you play piano?” Neil asked, changing the subject. Andrew shrugged.

“If I do I know you’ll start saying stupid things about my hands again,” Andrew told him. Neil grinned.

“But I like your hands.”

“I know,” Andrew said and went to go hang up the coats. He watched Neil sit up and stretch. Neil grinned at him again, so Andrew rolled his eyes and went towards the piano while Neil wandered into the kitchen.

Lily was sitting on the piano bench with her music in her lap. “We only got music for the elementary choir and master singers. We get combined choir music next week,” Lily said without looking up. “Our master singers song is really hard, but I like it a lot.”

“Are you going to audition for a solo?” Andrew asked. She nodded.

“There’s more than one solo in this piece. And I got all the piano accompaniments for the music.” Lily handed Andrew the papers and he spread them out.

“What first?” he asked. She closed her music folder and set it on the floor.

“Umm Here Comes the Sun. I want to do that one first,” she said watching Andrew shift through the music. As with every new piece, she let him play it through once to learn it. She hummed, happily watching Andrew play.

For a moment, Andrew let his mind wander to the days when he was little. He’d have given anything for a moment like this. He thought of beaten little Neil. Lily would never know a life like that because she was theirs. She was theirs and they’d go to the end of the Earth for her.

Andrew thought about how fiercely he wanted to protect Neil at the beginning. He never thought he’d feel that emotion so strongly again.

“Okay, I’m ready,” Andrew said with a small smile. Lily smiled back, a big bright grin.

“Okay.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you to everyone who reads!

Neil knew Andrew hated running especially if it was done outside of their required gym time. So why Andrew insisted on running outside with Neil in the cold, Neil didn’t understand. He tried asking, but Andrew just rolled his eyes.

School and Lily was still a rollercoaster. They’d have a handful of good days and then they’d get a call saying she had another complete melt down. Neil wasn’t sleeping he was so worried. They tried talking about it with her, but didn’t make much progress. She was even starting to have issues with friends. The other kids didn’t want to be around her because she would start screaming.

Neil threw himself into workouts. Doing extra running and practice. When he couldn’t sleep he’d even go out in the yard and throw the ball around. That annoyed Andrew who would throw open the back door and tell Neil to get inside the fucking house.

Not even sex worked as a distraction. It failed at easing the tension from Neil and just left him and Andrew knotted up with frustration.

“When did you learn you had an eidetic memory?” Neil asked. It was late and they’d had less than stellar sex that had Andrew pacing around the room while Neil stared at the ceiling.

“I could tell that I had a really good memory when I was little, but I got moved around enough that no one really noticed until I was in juvie,” Andrew said.

“How did they notice?”

“We were required to do school work. I could have just half assed it, but there was high status that came with being allowed on the Exy team. So I did good on my school work. Too good.”

“What do you mean too good?” Neil asked sitting up. Andrew shrugged.

“A lot of kids there had poor education and maybe even some learning disabilities. I had a lot of shit schooling, but my memory kept my head above water. But so the course work was easy. And my case worker was a bitch. She got permission to give me harder course work.”

“And they figured it out.”

“They were the first to pay attention and I was there long enough that they noticed. I was tested and it was all explained to me, but they wanted to keep it very hush, hush,” Andrew explained. “They didn’t want people to know and then take advantage of me because…” he trailed off.

“What?” Neil asked and Andrew looked up at him.

“I know what’s going on with Lily,” Andrew said crawling back onto the bed.

“What?” Neil asked again. Andrew leaned over Neil, and brushed his hair back.

“People know she has a good memory and they are using it against her. Like that time people were showing her pictures from your fathers murders. I bet people are saying things or showing her things,” Andrew said pushing his forehead against Neil’s.

“Oh,” Neil said. It made sense. Andrew ducked his head and pressed his lips against Neil’s.

“We will go to the school with her tomorrow,” Andrew murmured.

“Mmkay,” Neil said, pushing forward when Andrew pulled back. Andrew let Neil kiss him again before moving to kiss Neil’s eyes and nose. “I love you,” Neil whispered as Andrew repeated kissing Neil’s face. Neil took Andrew’s hands and placed them on either side of his face. He kept his hands covering Andrew’s; tracing over his knuckles and the backs of his hands.

Andrew held Neil’s face. “Everything is going to be okay,” Andrew told him in a whisper. Neil nodded. He trusted Andrew more than anyone.

“I’m trying not to think about what they could have showed her,” Neil said in a quiet voice. Andrew’s thumbs soothed over the scars on Neil’s face.

“Don’t,” Andrew warned. “We will take care of it in the morning and then it’ll stop and then you can stop.”

“Stop what?” Neil asked dumbly. Andrew snorted.

“Sometimes I don’t know why I like you,” Andrew muttered. Neil smiled.

“Because I’m pretty,” Neil said opening his eyes to look at Andrew who stared back.

“Yeah whatever,” Andrew said kissing Neil again before he could say something else stupid.

 

 

Lily held both Neil and Andrew’s hands when they went in to meet with the social worker in the morning. Andrew had only told Lily that they wanted to discuss things with Ms. Hart and her. She’d been moody after that and all through breakfast. Which made Neil overly anxious.

The kids were all still lining up at the front of the school, so the halls were fairly empty. Ms. Hart’s office was open and she greeted them with a warm smile. The three of them sat on the couch, Lily clinging to both of them as if something bad were about to happen.

“When people found out I had an eidetic memory they kept it quiet so adults or kids couldn’t use it against me,” Andrew said. Ms. Hart looked at him as if surprised he’d chosen to speak.

“And you and Neil think kids know and are using it against her,” Ms. Hart added. Andrew nodded. “Are kids showing you scary things, Lily,” Ms. Hart asked. Lily buried her face against Neil’s side.

“Lily, come on. We just need a yes or a no,” Neil said rubbing her back. Andrew bent over and whispered in Lily’s ear. Neil could feel Lily shaking her head, but he couldn’t hear Andrew. It was just a soft murmur in the silence of the room.

The bell rang signaling the start of the school day and still they waited. Neil rubbed Lily’s back wishing he could pull Andrew close for comfort too. Nervous energy was making him twitchy. He wondered if Andrew would let him run home.

Probably not.

 

 

It was an entire forty minutes until Andrew got Lily to sit up and look forward again. “People tell her things and sometimes show her things,” Andrew said and Lily gave a tiny nod, looking at her feet. Without thinking, Neil leaned forward and tied her shoe.

“Okay. Okay thank you Lily,” Ms. Hart said. “Can you tell us who?”

Lily shook her head no.

“Okay, it’s still a start,” Ms. Hart said with a smile. “Thank you for telling us that Lily. We’re all really proud.”

Neil watched Andrew lean over and whisper in her ear. Lily nodded.

“Do you want to go to class?” Neil asked Lily. She turned big brown eyes to him and nodded. Neil smiled. “I love you,” he whispered in her ear, giving her hand a squeeze. He was relieved when she gave him a small smile.

 

 

Both of them stood in the parking lot. Andrew’s cigarette between his lips and Neil’s resting between cold fingers. They were silent. Neil tried to tell himself this was a step forward. A big step. They’d confirmed the problem.

But it wasn’t fixed. They didn’t know how to even fix it. Telling kids to stop wasn’t going to make them stop. Ms. Hart had explained a few things they’d try doing. It would all take time though. Which meant Lily would probably have more melt downs that they couldn’t prevent even if they were trying to.

“We have to keep telling her that we aren’t going to give her away,” Andrew said at last.

“I know,” Neil said bitterly. He’d do anything to have Lily stop worrying they’d give her away. they discussed that she was theirs forever multiple times, and it still seemed to be one of her biggest fears. “I just feel so useless,” he admitted sullenly. He turned sad eyes to Andrew.

“I do too,” Andrew said softly. Hearing that admission, Neil felt like he’d been slapped. Andrew always knew what to do.

Andrew wrapped his hand around the back on Neil’s neck; frozen fingers on warm skin. He pulled him down so that they were face to face.

“I can see your mind turning. Stop. Everything is going to be okay Neil. I didn’t think I had to tell you that too,” Andrew said.

“I know, I just…” Neil had no excuses. He was worried and he was useless.

“We aren’t bad parents,” Andrew said firmly. “We are doing everything we can and we are making progress.” Andrew’s fingers dug into the back of Neil’s neck, grounding him. He took a deep breath and nodded.

“Come to Court with me this weekend. Both of you,” Neil whispered, shutting his eyes, feeling his words come out shaky.

“We can do that,” Andrew said pressing soft lips to Neil. “All you have to do is ask and we will be there.”

Neil nodded. He wanted Andrew and Lily with him always so that he could protect them and shelter them from everything. He didn’t want to be alone.

Andrew kissed him again. “Now get in the car I’m fucking freezing,” Andrew told him, sounding grumpy.

Neil smiled and complied.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!! :D


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